China was always represented me by the country of horizontals - stocky architecture of palace complexes, steljushchiesja dwarfish trees. Modern Beijing is a city of verticals: huge mirror high-rise buildings are torn up. That though somehow to reconcile this courageous break to tradition, tops of skyscrapers get married roofs with izognutymi eaves. High-rise buildings grow here as mushrooms - old quarter is surrounded, and in some months on its place the brilliant giant already flaunts.

We Approach on the Russian embassy. Modern constructions are replaced hutunami, old one-storeyed quarters - them in Beijing remains very little.

The Wind disturbs the naked branches of trees; on the cords drawn through street greater red paper lanterns are shaken. Earlier in this area there lived descendants albazintsev and members of Russian Mission, nowadays each second building is borrowed under restaurant.

Here and Bejguan - " northern farmstead ", former territory of Russian Spiritual Mission in China on which our embassy has settled down, the biggest in the world.

The Embassy reminds more likely magnificent park, rather than business establishment - everywhere trees, beds, bushes - the rich inheritance which has been grown up by works of Mission.

After the mass destruction of sparrows lead within a cultural revolution, a bird do not favour Beijing the presence; and to nest it there is no place - to name capital of China green city difficultly. In Bejguane shchebet, trills, singing and other sounds of which only are capable numerous sojki, sparrows, turtle-doves, ravens and izhe with them, do not cease even at night. On paths along the channel important walk about swans; fibers, hedgehogs, rabbits, cats - everyone feel freely.

We with the husband often recollect a trip to Moscow suburbs together with the familiar Chinese. All our splashes in the emotions caused by occurrence those of the hedgehog, mousy strange birdy, have been interrupted its short: " In China it eat ". Having noticed accrueing amazement, it summarized: " In China everyone eat ". Here really do not disdain anything, therefore the abundance of the four-footed and feathery creature in the center of Beijing can be named a rarity.

Under the request of the husband us have placed in so-called Red Fanze. Fanza is a former palace of prince of the fourth dajtsinskoj dynasties sy-a-oo, redeemed by Mission in the beginning of a century after boxing revolt. Red walls, a green tile roof, it is typical izognutyj an eaves; only on konke instead of traditional figures of mythical animals and inhabitants of heaven pigeons flaunt.

The Basic part of a palace per 1901 has been turned into a temple of prelate Innokentija Irkutsk, and a right wing adjoining them - in pokoi the chief of Mission where we and have settled down. The place of a temple borrows nowadays a hall for receptions with the beautiful Chinese furniture, the inlaid screens, rolls on walls. Here by already developed tradition divine services are spent.

Preparation for services goes in embassy at full speed. The apartment of one of the first parishioners reminds a staff: gentle bahovskaja the melody of a mobile phone is continually muffled by a persevering ring of the internal device - whether black coverlets for analoja are ready, how many it is necessary copies of notes what to do with a huge ancient screen which divides Fanzu on two parts and creates weight of inconveniences how to provide the admission of all wishing to pray on the closed territory of embassy. The head starts to go around and at us...

In Moscow father Dionisy who gathered to China already in seventeenth time, has solved, that our walks across Beijing will begin with area Tjananmen, the main area of city. " There as anywhere it is possible to experience immensity and power of China ", - it spoke, and it has appeared is absolutely right: Tjananmen simply suppresses the scope. It was cloudy, barrels a strong wind, and it seemed, nothing is capable to protect from a cold. Air hardly was touched with twilight; highly in the sky soared snakes in the form of a bird-predator. Here one of images of many-sided China - strong, boundless, frightening with the infinity, gloomy and guarded, majestic, as a soaring predator.

Tired, frozen we come back home. In the evening - a christening.